Welcoming Dr. Candace Robertson-James!

Last week, Lower School was thrilled to welcome Dr. Candace Robertson James for a special author visit. Many of you know Candace as Alex and Nalani’s mom! Candace’s book, entitled Reflections of Me, aims to inspire the development of a healthy self-concept in children. Candace shared how her book came to be. She guided students through activities where they envisioned themselves as super heroes and the powers they would possess.  She also asked them to think about their many gifts and the unique talents that make them special.  

As an adult, what would you write 

in response to the prompt: I AM?

Second Grade Sees History in the Making!

Tuesday morning the second grade classes were invited to see the filming of a scene from LINCOLN: An American President, a 6-part premium documentary series about the life and career of the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.  A student's father, Jon Hirsch, is the executive producer and director of this series, and he allowed us to see how the magic happens as he was filming in parts of our Meeting House.  It was all very exciting to witness, and we even got to see where the make-up and costuming happened!  

Counting by 2’s in Kindergarten

Math is exciting in kindergarten.  When our students feel successful in the face of challenge, it can feel extremely rewarding.  Numbers to 10 are solid ground for almost all kindergartners, but the teens tend to be quite confusing for many of them.  We started learning about counting by 2’s to 10.  Many students began to memorize the sequence 2, 4, 6, 8, 10.  When we work with physical objects the sequence of numbers moves from the abstract to the concrete.  We started counting our feet by 1’s and then by 2’s, and discovered that one can count faster when “skip counting.”  We started counting other objects like...

Unifix cubes,

 and snack.  

Then we ventured into the teens and challenged ourselves to count by 2‘s to 20!  First we wrote the numbers and developed our fine motor skills by using pencils, and then we traced over the numbers with markers using an alternating color pattern to highlight the process of skip counting.

We also practiced counting by 2’s with our whole bodies on the playground.  Each child’s learning style profile is unique, so we incorporate different tracing modalities to ensure that deeper learning occurs in our students.

Exploring a Variety of Media in the Art Room

Throughout the course of their lower school experience, students explore a variety of different media in the art room. The introduction to different tools and techniques begins in the early years, and skills and new levels of challenge and complexity are added in later grades. This gives students the opportunity to stretch their artistic skills and expand their understanding of art worlds.

The first graders recently completed a sculpture project in which they created animal figurines based on the Oaxacan wooden carved animals from Mexico. The students created bases using styrofoam and recycled materials, which they then covered with colorful paper. Some students loved the sensory experience of getting their hands covered in "goop" while others said it was not their favorite!



The fourth graders designed and completed wood projects using a coping saw, a tool they were first introduced to in the third grade. For their fourth grade project, they were given the opportunity to design their shapes based on their own interests and subject matter, and were given the option to cut out more than one piece of wood and attach them to create a three-dimensional piece.



The fourth graders have also been exploring new options at the fibers and sewing station during independent choice time. They were introduced to the technique of needle felting, in which a needle is used to apply wool roving to a piece of fabric to create a design. Some students have chosen to combine their new needle felting skills with sewing skills learned in second grade, and others have created both representational and abstract scenes using fibers.

4th Grade Trip to the Museum of the American Revolution

NO TAXATION 

WITHOUT 

REPRESENTATION!

On Tuesday our 4th graders visited the Museum of the American Revolution. The Museum of the American Revolution truly brings the causes, events, and ideas of the American Revolution to life through immersive and creative programming for people of all ages and diverse life experiences.  In one of the Museum’s captivating immersive environments, we stood beneath the branches and lanterns of a life-size reproduction of the Boston Liberty Tree, a large elm tree where the first stirrings of revolt were discussed and debated. We discussed the meeting of equality, viewed George Washington's actual tent, and boarded a Privateer Ship.  

El Horóscopo Chino en tercer grado / Chinese Horoscope in Third Grade

In connection with third grade’s Ancient China Study, in Spanish class the students have been learning the vocabulary for the animals and their presumed attributes that are represented in the Chinese Zodiac. El Horóscopo Chino consists of twelve signs and is determined by the Chinese Lunar Year. There are twelve animals, one for each year of the lunar cycle.

1. la rata: the rat

            ambicioso, trabajador y creativo

            ambitious, hard working and creative

2. el buey: the ox

            responsable, paciente y leal

            responsible, patient and loyal

3. el tigre: the tiger

            valiente, simpático y sospechoso

            brave, nice and suspicious

4. el conejo: the rabbit

            compasivo, creativo y amigable

            compassionate, creative and friendly

5. el dragón: the dragon

            brillante, honesto y entusiasmado

            brilliant, honest and enthusiastic

6. la serpiente: the snake

            sabio, callado y respetado

            wise, quiet and respected

7. el caballo: the horse

            alegre, hablador e independiente

            cheerful, talkative and independent

8. la cabra: the sheep

            amable, creativo y apasionado

            loving, creative and passionate

9. el mono: the monkey

            inteligente, chistoso y genial

            intelligent, humorous and genius

10. el gallo: the rooster

            agresivo, ambicioso y orgulloso

            aggressive, ambitious and proud

11. el perro: the dog

            honesto, leal y sincero

            honest, loyal and sincere

12. el cerdo: the pig

            cariñoso, simpático y trabajador

            affectionate, kind and hard working

The third graders have been having much fun putting their new knowledge to practice. Many entertaining and engaging games have been provided for the students to practice their listening and reading comprehension. For example, el juego de los matamoscas (the Swatter Game) was first played using the photo of the animals, then with their printed name, and then with the written personality traits that the students needed to read in order to swat the correct one called out.

In addition, the students played a couple of rounds of their favorite, Pulgar Arriba (Thumbs-Up) by using flashcards with the animal photo and then with the written word.

Also, the students played a few rounds of another favorite, Bingo, created just for this study. First, they matched oral to photo and then by the three characteristic traits of the animal. The traits were called out and reference sheets were used so that the students could read and connect them with its corresponding animal logo on their board. What a fun challenge!!

Lastly, the students played a round of Bananagrams and it was a total hit among all. The third graders were invited to get into groups and using a two-minute timer, they had to build a crossword grid with the Spanish words for the zodiac animals. Way much more fun!!

The culminating activity for the study is for the third graders to make up their own zodiac sign. The question was posed, “ If you could create your own signo de horóscopo, what would it look like, what three characteristics will it have, and what would it be called?” The students first drafted their idea, gave it three characteristics (written in Spanish and English) and then began sculpting using Model Magic©. Once finished, their creations will be displayed for all to enjoy. Stay tuned…

Iconic Trailblazers

As a way to build on our earlier biography reading during Black History Month, the second graders have continued to learn about African Americans who have made an impact on our nation through civil rights work, the arts, sciences, literature, sports and much more. Look for the beautiful and informative posters the students created on the hallway wall between second grade and the Art room. In addition to the posters, our US map now includes an iconic Black American that we learned about connected to each state.

This Week in PE / Health / Wellness

This week in Physical Education for kindergarten we spent time working on manipulating different objects, whether it was a foam frisbee or catching and throwing using scoops.  In first and second grade.  We focused in on using scoops, which led to partner activities as well as cooperative games involving throwing, catching and  pickup objects using the scoop.  In third and fourth grade we continued with our Handball games and activities, along with this we started moving into the next cooperative game unit using Tchukball to learn strategy and cooperative play.

This week in health in first and second grade we have covered the topic of the cardiovascular system, more specifically talking about the heart and why it is important.  In all grades we continued with the concept of sportsmanship and fair play within the course of cooperative games.  Nutrition has been an ongoing topic in third and fourth grade and we spent this week wrapping up the concept of a healthy plate, speaking about what different food groups should be on your plate.  Lastly in kindergarten we also talked about families.

Third Grade Pretzel Sales Begin!

Third graders are very excited about selling pretzels!  Each year the third grade sells soft pretzels to supplement a special class trip to Philadelphia’s Chinatown.  A big part of selling pretzels is counting coins and making change.  Each pretzel costs 75 cents and shoppers pay for them with a variety of coins and bills, so third graders need to be comfortable mentally calculating the money they are given as well as the necessary change.  

To prepare to sell pretzels, we began with a review of coins and coin values and talked about some of the basics of customer service.  Students then practiced counting groups of coins in a variety of ways, including multiple games, such as Coin Bingo, Heads and Tails Sort and an activity

called, “I Have/ Who Has?”  Third graders also practiced buying and selling pretzels to give each other practice both with making change and with important customer service skills such as friendly greetings and communication.

Counting coins would be a great skill to continue practicing at home.  You can give your child a few coins and have them find the total, or you can have them find change for small amounts of money (under $1, $5 or $10). 

There are also some fun online games to practice counting coins, including:

Money Bingo

Counting Coins

Making Change

The first day of pretzel selling was a huge success!  We sold pretzels in multiple spots, including inside the lower school, on the lower school playground, and to middle school students during their snack break.  

First Grade Postal Service Open

Our first grade post office opened the day before Valentine’s Day with a ‘lovely’ line of customers eager to buy stamps to send off their valentines!  That afternoon, our postal workers were so busy stamping and sorting and delivering all of those special letters to their very special recipients!

Our post office is connected to our hero study and getting ready to run a post office has meant lots of work and lots of fun.  The students designed hero stamps with skill and creativity, adding great details and color.  The clerk at Staples was so impressed with the artwork that was about to be turned into our stamp plate sets.  The stamps had to be cut apart, mailboxes painted and readied  (one mailbox had to be done twice because the first one accidentally got recycled!), posters created announcing the opening, a visit to Elkins Park Post Office and lots of practice making change!!

Our visit to the Post Office provided the opportunity to see how mail is dated, cancelled and sorted.  All the jobs that our first graders would need to know how to do in our own postal system.  They also got to see how mail is loaded onto the trucks for delivery. The students have been very excited selling stamps in the morning and then collecting all the mail in the afternoon and getting it ready for delivery throughout the entire school.

Receiving mail is GREAT fun!!! Please stop by and purchase stamps and send a letter to someone in the AFS community.  You can drop your properly addressed mail in one of the blue mailboxes located in the LS lobby or outside the LS library. The recipient will be glad you did and so will our first grade postal workers!!  Stamps are ten cents each and the money raised will be donated to a nonprofit that the first graders choose at the end of our study.

Happy writing!!